High Quality, Yet Affordable

ICAC was founded in 1996 by a group of association executive directors/presidents who were concerned that the only accreditation programs available were priced well beyond the affordability range of most small to mid-sized certification programs.

With this in mind, they determined that the ICAC would offer the very same high quality accreditation services offered by large accreditation bodies, but at a fraction of the cost.

Through the use of countless volunteer hours and the support of existing member associations (even today most ICAC activities are performed by volunteers and office/staff provided through member associations) – ICAC has been able to achieve this goal of providing high-quality accreditation services at an affordable cost.

Compare our services and fees…

ICAC

Other Accreditation Bodies

Evaluates certification programs to ISO/IEC 17024

Yes

Yes

Operates accreditation processes to ISO/IEC 17011

Yes

Yes

Accreditation recognized by various industry and governmental agencies

Yes

Yes

Requires extensive certification program background from evaluation team

Yes

Yes

Pre-Assessment Interview

Free

$1,250 plus expenses

Application Fee

$800

$3,000

Initial On-Site Evaluation Visit

$2,200*

$5,000*

Review of Corrective Actions

Free

$1,250 per day (1 day minimum)

Annual Surveillance Fee (review of self-reporting documentation)

Free

$1,250 per day (1 day minimum)

On-Site Surveillance Fee (Required in the 3rd year of accreditation)

$1,000**

$1,250 per day (per assessor)**

Annual “Membership” Fee

$200

$2,500 to $20,000 ***

Appealing an Accreditation Decision

Free

$1,000

Cost of additional similarly administered certification programs

Free

Fees for services may apply to each certification program individually

*Most other accreditation bodies charge $1,250 per day per assessor, plus expenses. ICAC provides two assessors for two days. So this is a best estimate (excluding travel costs which are assumed to be similar), but may be more or less based on the size of the team and the size of the organization evaluated.

**Plus travel expenses.

***The largest national accreditation organization charges an annual fee based on the budget size of the organization. Those under $250,000 in annual revenues pay $2500 per year, $250,000 – $500,000 pay $3,000 annually, $500,000 to $1 million pay $4,000, $1 million – $2 million pay $6,000, $2 million – $4 million pay $10,000, $4 million – $6 million pay $16,000 and those over $6 million pay $20,000 per year.